Railroad-track.



PATENTED NOV. 29, 1904.

D. J. ANDREW.

RAILROAD TRACK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27. 1904.

NO MODEL.

Fa. I.

WTNESSES STATES Patented November 29, 1904.

DAVID J. ANDREW, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO KETURAH W. ANDREW, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

RAILROAD-TRACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 776,450, dated November 29, 1904.

Application filed January 27, 1904. $erial1lo. 190,772. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID J. ANDREW, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Tracks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in railroad-tracks.

The object of the invention is to improve the construction-of railroad-tracks, particularly with respect to the ties and the manner of securing the rails thereto; and to this end the invention consists in a railroad-track embodying the novel features of construction defined in the claims and hereinafter shown and described in the preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the tie and the anchors secured therein. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the tie near the end thereof, showing a rail and fastening devices in elevation; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the tie, showing the fastening devices and a cross-section of a rail.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a concrete tie having anchors embedded therein, T-rails carried by the tie, rail-fasteners connecting the anchors and the rail, and means for securing the rail-fasteners to the anchors and the rail.

The tie comprises a body 1, of any suitable concrete composition, and tension members 2, which are embedded in the concrete in the process of manufacture. These tension members comprise endless loops, formed, preferably, of steel, by welding or otherwise securing together the ends of a strip of suitable length. The central portions of the tension members are arranged close to the upper and lower surfaces of the concrete body, while the tension members curve slightly inward toward the ends, so that the said members have a substantially elliptical form. This form is considered preferable, as the tension members more effectively resist vertical distortion of the tie. The curved continuous ends of the loops anchor the tension members firmly in the cement body without the necessity of corrugating or twisting the tension members and they also make the ends of the ties stronger and less liable to be broken off by blows. By providing the tie with tension members adjacent to both the upper and the lower surfaces the tie is protected against strains in either direction, so that it will resist fracture due to uneven tamping, whether in the middle or at the ends. By using two tension members arranged adjacent to the sides of the tie the tie is also protected against any horizontal 7 strains due to the creeping of the rails or to any other cause.

The anchors 3 are formed each of a single flat rod or strap of steel of uniform diameter bent to a U shape and embedded in the tie in the process of manufacture. The lower ends 4c of the anchors are bent so as to prevent the anchors withdrawing from the tie. The projecting central portions 5 of the anchors form eyes 6, which are engaged by the ends 7 of rail-fasteners 8 and 9, secured to the T-rails 10, carried by the tie. Owing to the form of the rail-fasteners it is necessary to make the eyes 6 considerably longer than the thickness of the ends 7 of the rail-fasteners in order to permit the insertion of the fasteners therein, and the additional space in the eyes is occupied by fillers 11, provided with ears 12, which aid in securing them in the eyes. The lower surfaces of the fillers are beveled, so as to give an even bearing to tapered keys 13, which are driven between the fillers and the ends 7 of the rail-fasteners. The rail-fasteners and the fillers are provided with opposite curved surfaces 14 and 15, respectively, between which the ends of the keys are bent upward when the keys are driven into place, and the bent ends of the keys bearing against the surfaces 15 prevent the keys from working loose and drawing out.

Lugs 16 are provided on the keys by which they may be withdrawn when necessary by suitable tools upon the application of suflicient force to straighten out the keys.

The rail 10 is provided with a hole 17 in the web of the rail, and this hole is engaged by the ends 18 of the railfasteners. A tapered key 19, which is preferably of the same size as the keys 13, is driven into the hole 17 between the ends 18 of the rail-fasteners, and the end of the key is bent between the opposite curved surfaces 20 of the rail-fasteners, so as to be secured in place in the same manner as the keys 13. The rail-fasteners have shoulders 21, which engage the foot of the rail and aid in preventing any lateral displacement of the rail. Shoulders 22 upon the ends 18 of the rail-fasteners engage the web of the rail at either side and assist in preventing the web from bending under lateral strains exerted thereon by the rolling-stock.

The attachment of the rail-fasteners to the web of the rail constitutes an important feature of the invention, since the rail-fasteners give this part considerable support against lateral stresses, owing particularly to the shoulders 22 on the rail-fastener 8, and by these means the use of the ordinary railbrace, generally used to support T rails against lateral strain, particularly on curves, is largely or wholly dispensed with. Any tendency of the rail to move laterally as a Whole is resisted also by the shoulders 21 engaging the foot of the rail, while lateral movement of the rail-fasteners is prevented by the anchors, the fillers, and the bent portions of the keys, making relative movement of the rail-fasteners and the anchors impossible.

By securing the rail-fasteners both to the ties and to the rails creeping of the rails is absolutely prevented, since substantial longitudinal movement of the rails can occur only by breaking loose all of the fasteners by which the rails are secured to each tie, whereas the means previously proposed for securing rails to ties are not secured to the rails, but merely engage them in such manner as to prevent lateral movement of the rails. The present construction has, however, suflicient elasticity to permit the slight longitudinal expansion and contraction of the individual rails due to heat and cold.

Thin plates of sheet metal 23 are inserted between the tie and the rails and rail-fasteners. By using plates of different thickness the rails may be leveled without tamping the ties. Fillers of different sizes will be used in conjunction with the plates to compensate for the different thicknesses.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the illustrated embodiment thereof, but may be embodied in other forms.

The word elliptical where used in the claims is intended in its popular sense that is, to denote a closed elongated loop with round endsand is not to be taken in its precise geometrical sense.

Having thus described my invention, What is claimed is' the tie, and means for fastening the rails to the tie, substantially as described.

3. A railroad-track, having, in combination, atie comprising a concrete body with two endless tension members arranged longitudinally and embedded therein adjacent to opposite sides thereof, rails carried by the tie, and means for fastening the rails to the tie, substantially as described.

1. A railroad-track, having,in combination, a tie, anchors secured to the tie and provided with eyes projected above the upper surface thereof, rails carried by the tie, and rail-fasteners engaging the said eyes and the rails, substantially as described.

5. A railroad-track, having,in combination, a tie, anchors secured thereto and provided with eyes, rails carried by the tie, rail-fasteners engaging the said eyes, means for securing them therein, and means for securing the fasteners to the rails. substantially as described.

6. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, anchors secured thereto and provided with eyes, rails carried by the tie, rail-fasteners engaging the said eyes and the rails and tapered keys driven into the eyes to secure the rail-fasteners therein, substantially as de scribed.

7. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, anchors secured thereto and provided with eyes, rails carried by the tie, rail-fasteners engaging the said eyes and the rails, fillers inserted in the eyes and tapered keys driven into the eyes to secure the rail-fasteners and fillers therein, substantially as described.

8. Arailroad-track, having,in combination, a tie, a T-rail carried thereon, and a rail-fastener securely locked to the tie, and to the web of the rail, substantially as described.

9. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, a T-rail carried thereby, a rail-fastener secured to the tie and arranged to engage a hole in the web of the rail, and means for securing and locking the fastener in the said hole, substantially as described.

10. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, a rail carried thereby and provided with a hole, a rail-fastener secured to the tie and engaging the said hole and a tapered key driven into the hole to secure'the rail-fastener therein, substantially as described.

11. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, a T-rail carried thereby provided with a hole in its web, rail-fasteners secured to the tie on opposite sides of the rail and engaging the said hole, and a tapered key driven into the hole to secure the rail-fasteners therein, substantially as described.

12. A railroad-track, having, in combina tion, a tie, a T-rail carried thereby provided with a hole in its Web, rail-fasteners secured to the tie on opposite sides of the rail and engaging the said hole, and a tapered key driven between the ends of the fasteners in the hole to secure them therein, substantially as described.

13. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, a T-rail carried thereby provided with a hole in its web, and a rail-fastener secured to the tie and engaging said hole and provided with shoulders to engage the Web of the rail on either side, and means for-securing the rail-fastener in the hole, substantially as described.

14:. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, a T-rail carried thereby, and a railfastener secured to the tie and to the web of the rail, the fastener being provided with a shoulder to engage the foot of the rail, substantially as described.

15. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, a rail carried thereby, an anchor secured to the tie and having an eye, a railfastener engaging the eye and the rail and a tapered key driven into the eye to secure the rail-fastener therein, the rail-fastener being provided with a shoulder against which the end of the key is bent when the key is driven into place, substantially as described.

16. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, a rail carried thereby, an anchor secured to the tie and provided with an eye, a rail-fastener engaging the eye and the rail, a

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between which the end of the key is bent so I as to retain the key in place, substantially as described.

17. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, arail carried thereby and provided with a hole, rail-fasteners secured to the tie on opposite sides of the rail and engaging the hole in the rail, and a tapered key driven into the hole between the parts of the rail-fasteners located therein, the rail-fasteners having opposite curved surfaces between which the end of the key is bent to retain the key in place, substantially as described.

18. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a tie, a rail carried thereby, an anchor secured to the tie comprising a U-shaped strap of which the central portion projects above the tie, and a rail-fastener secured to the projecting portion of the anchor and to the rail, substantially as described.

19. A railroad-track, having, in combination, a concrete tie, a rail carried thereby, an anchor embedded in the tie comprising a U- shaped bar of which the lower ends are bent at an angle and embedded in the tie, and a rail-fastener for securing the rail to the central projecting portion of the anchor, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID J. ANDRE\V.

Witnesses:

FARNUM F. DORSEY, ALFRED H. HILDRETH. 

